Heteroarylenemethines are known in the art and poly(hetero)arylenemethines have been prepared by reacting trichloromethylfurfural or .alpha.,.alpha.,.alpha.,.alpha.'-pentachloro-p-xylene with (hetero)aromatics. (See U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,851 Braunling et al, Wacker-Chemie GmbH). Heteroarylenemethines consisting of three heterocyclic rings connected by methine bridges substituted by in each case optionally substituted phenyl radicals are known from A.O. Patil and F. Wudl (Macromolecules 21, pages 540-542, 1988) and A. Ulman and J. Manassen (Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin I, pages 1066-1069, 1979).
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel starting materials for polymers, and in particular, for conductive polymers. Another object of the present invention is to provide novel polymers. A further object of the present invention is to provide novel processes for preparing starting materials for polymers.